PARENTS SECTION  

Please check here weekly and help keep your students accountable as they accomplish assigned tasks.

Weekly Calendar and Class Activities:

Weel 19 - January 28 - We will finish discussion of reptiles in Chapter 18 and begin discussion of birds and mammals in Chapter 19. Homework is posted on Google Classroom. There is a combined Ch. 18/19 quiz. Worksheets on frog dissection are due. Students were offered a bonus opportunity to watch selected short videos related to our study of animals. 

Looking ahead, they can begin to think about a specific human disease or disorder as a topic for their spring paper. Topic approval due date is February 11.

Week 18 - January 21 - We already have our first test for 2026 coming up! Chapter 17 test will be given this week. Zoom review session is scheduled. Frog dissection activity after test and discussion. Assignments posted on Google Classroom. Lab 17 on crayfish dissection due in class.  Please have students view posted videos to reinforce lab activity. Detailed instructions are posted on the Stream in Google Classroom. It will be a full and hectic class so please encourage students to come prepared.

Week 17 - January 14 - Happy New Year! Second quarter grades should have arrived in your mailboxes. I look forward to welcoming back students to start off our spring semester.  Assignments for the week are posted on Google classroom. Lab 16B is due in class. We will continue our study of invertebrates with Chapter 17 on the arthropods.  There will be a vocab quiz, and we will have our very first dissection of the year - an investigation of crayfish anatomy. Should be a lot of fun! :) Please have students bring a pair of goggles to use during dissection. This item is listed in our supply list.

Merry Christmas!

Week 16 - December 11 & 12 - Presentations of research papers & Christmas party!  Students will share what they learned in their research on a biotechnology topic. Parents are invited. Please come at 11:15 a.m. if you are able to attend. Students are to submit a copy of their revised, final paper, the rough draft, rough draft grade sheet and their signature/task sheet. They can also bring a snack to share if desired (optional).

Week 16 - December 10 - We will finish discussion of Ch. 16 and review chapter, do our Planaria lab activity, and spend the rest of class time on the midterm/semester final.  Selected Section Review Questions were assigned. Midterm test will cover material from all chapters previously studied (25%) and Ch.13/16 (75%). Students were provided a study guide to help them review.

Looking ahead, presentation day is on December 17. Parents are invited to attend. Students will be given specific instructions this week on how presentations will be conducted.

Week 15 - December 3 - Combined quiz on Ch. 13/16. Graded rough drafts distributed. Last day to turn in Lab 11A

Week 14 - November 19 - It will be a busy week before the Thanksgiving break. Students will take the combined Chapter 11/12 test after we finish discussing fungi and reviewing CRQs. Rough draft is due. Students have a bonus (but optional) opportunity to bring collected, not store-bought, mushrooms to class. Lab 11A has a flexible deadline (November 19 or December 3).

Week 13 - November 12 - Lots going on next week! Combined Chapter 8/9 Test (take home) is due, Lab 8B is due on class day.  Ch. 12 Vocab and CRQs assigned. We will discuss prokaryotes and viruses in class.  Combined Ch. 11/12 quiz towards the end of class. Looking ahead, rough drafts are due on November 19. There is a document posted on Google classroom to help students write their rough drafts. Rubric is also posted so they know how their drafts will be graded. 

Week 9 - October 9 - We will continue our discussion of Chapter 7, focusing on cellular respiration. We will do Lab 7B on Alternative Fuels. Test on Ch. 7 will be given towards the end of the class period.  Quarterly grade reports will be sent out shortly after this week.

Week 8 - October 8 - Sources of biotechnology paper are due. Students cannot submit sources without an approved topic. We will begin our study of photosynthesis and respiration in Chapter 7. Vocab quiz on Chapter 7. Lab 5B is due.

Week 7 - October 1 - We will finish Chapter 6 discussion. Test on Chapter 6 at the end of class. Chapter 6 CRQs were assigned for test prep (due by 10 p.m. the night before class). Strawberry DNA extraction lab worksheet is due. (Lab 5B will be due on October 8 to give us time to discuss % weight calculations). Many students have picked out topics for the paper but a few have not. Please check with your student if he/she has an approved topic. Students cannot proceed to the next step until this is done. Review sessions scheduled for Friday (Sept. 26) and Monday (Sept. 29).

Week 6 - September 24 - Vocab and section review questions for Chapter 6 are assigned (upload these on Google classroom the night before class).  Lab 5A is due in class. Quiz on Chapter 6 vocab. Biotechnology research paper topic has to be approved by this Wednesday. The students were each given a signature and task sheet so they can keep track of deadlines for the different "gates" in the research process. Please look over this sheet and sign it once their topic has been approved. Thank you!

Week 5 - September 17 - Students will take their Chapter 5 test. CRQs are assigned. Flexible deadline for Lab 5A: may be submitted this week or the following week (Sept. 24).  Looking ahead, biotechnology topics for their paper should be approved by September 24.

Week 4 - September 10 - Read Chapter 5, Lab 5A; Submit vocab list and answers to all Section Review questions on Google classroom. Students will take quiz on Chapter 5 vocab. Lab 2B worksheets (first part only) are due in class.

Week 3 - September 3 - Students will take their first test on Chapter 2. No vocab list due but assignment is to answer chapter 2 review questions #1-30 and submit on Google classroom (work due at 10:00 p.m. the night before class). This should help them prepare for the test.  We will finish Lab 2B and our discussion of Chapter 2 prior to the test. Zoom session information for chapter review was emailed to parents. (Looking ahead we will study Chapter 5 on Cytology next. We will skip Chapters 3 & 4 until the spring of next year).

Week 2 - August 27  Submit Chapter 2 vocab list and selected section review questions on Google classroom (work due at 10 p.m. the night before class).  We will finish Labs 1A & 1B before discussing Chapter 2. Quiz 1 was ready but we got busy and I forgot to give students the Chapter 1 quiz.:( It will be given as soon as we start class next week. Read Lab 2B at home and perform part of experiment in class; take quiz on Chapter 2 vocab after our discussion. Looking ahead, Chapter 2 test will be on Sept. 3.

Week 1 - August  20 - First day of class; additional intros, read Chapter 1 and Lab 1B at home prior to class. Submit Vocab list on Google classroom (due at 10 p.m. the night before class) and bring hard copy to class. Bring Lab Manual. Take quiz on Chapter 1 vocab. Perform Lab 1B.